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After being shot going to the wrong house to pick up his siblings, 17 year old Ralph Yarl opened up about his harrowing experience for the first time on “Good Morning America.” Read more and watch how he continues to persevere despite the tragic whirlwind of events since the unfortunate incident.
Kansas City teenager shared his thoughts since the shooting in an exclusive interview with GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts. He is joined by his mom and lawyer, who are there to support with accompanying information and details inside the tragedy.
Yarl was shot in the back of the head after going to the wrong house to pick up his 11 year old twin brothers. He shared more on his recovery, emotions at the time of the shooting and more for the first time ever. Yarl shared that his mother asked him to pick up his siblings from a friend’s house, which he had never been to before.
The teenager remembered waiting for “a long time,” sitting idly on the porch before an older man with a gun opened the door. The two were met with glass door between them.
“He points [the gun] at me … so I kinda, like, brace and I turn my head,” Yarl told Good Morning America. “Then it happened. And then I’m on the ground … and then I fall on the glass. The shattered glass. And then before I know it, I’m running away shouting, ‘Help me, help me.”
Yarl bled from his head, and still managed to shout for help, crediting his instints for taking over. As he reached out for help, the 17-year-old was turned away at first and had to approach several homes before getting any assistance.
“So then I go to the next house across the street. No one answers,” Yarl says. “And the house to the right of that house, I go there, and someone opens the door and tells me to wait for the police.”
Yarl’s mother, Cleo Nagbe, remembers driving around searching for her son after he didn’t return home with his siblings. She later received an unknown phone call from the police, noting that Ralph had been shot and was in the hospital.
“It was traumatic,” Nagbe recalls.
According to police, Yarl was shot in the head and in the right arm on April 13 by an 84 year old homeowner in Kansas City named Andrew Lester. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and has since been receiving psychiatric care. His family moved after the incident. Yarl didn’t want to go back home after he was shot in the neighborhood where he also lived, his aunt told ABC News last month.
“I’m just a kid and not larger than life because this happened to me,” Yarl said to Roberts. “I’m just gonna keep doing all the stuff that makes me happy. And just living my life the best I can and not let this bother me.”
As Yarl continues his long road to recovery, he plans to continue his passions for engineering and music. The gifted teen plays several instruments, including the bass clarinet, the saxophone, the tenor saxophone, the clarinet and the contrabass clarinet. He said music has helped him cope as he heals from the shooting.
“Classical music kinda resonates with me,” he said. “Just the feeling that it creates and the fact that you can make it yourself … it kinda invigorates me.”
Lester was charged with one count of felony assault in the first degree and one count of armed criminal action, which is also a felony. He pleaded not guilty and was released on April 18 on a $200k bond. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 31 after a judge agreed to partially seal the evidence. Lester told the police he, “believed someone was attempting to break into the house.” He shot twice before calling 911.
Yarl has received an outpouring of support since the incident. His community has continued to push the story and hope to give it the attention it deserves. Countless students protested, walking out of school in support of Yarl.
The Kansas City Defender, a Black-owned news outlet, has also been a key platform to amplifying Yarl’s story and leading it to national coverage.
ABC News reported that Yarl recently attended a Memorial Day event in Kansas City to help raise money for traumatic brain injuries. His family joined him in the “Going the Distance for Brain Injury” event, which featured a 10K, 5k, a 1.5-mile walk and an event for children.
“Justice is just the rule of the law, regardless of race, ethnicity, and age,” Yarl replied when asked what justice looks like to him. “[Lester] should be convicted for the crimes that he made,” he added. “I am past having any personal hatred for him.”
Watch the full interview with the resilient Ralph Yarl on “GMA” below:
